Post & Voice 9.4.14

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Hunting & Fishing Guide The annual Post & Voice Hunting and Fishing Guide is in this week’s edition. Hunting seasons, stories and more in this edition of the guide.

Hunting & Fishing 2014

POSVoicTe sail

The Pender-Top

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Volume 43, No. 49

POST Voice The Pender-Topsail

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Thursday, September 4, 2014

High school sports Fall high school sports are in full swing with football, volleyball, soccer, cross country & more. Read about all the action in sports on pages 1B-2B.

The Media of Record for the People of Pender County

50 Cents

Burgaw manager says town will revisit contract procedures

End of summer celebration

Low bidder may not always be the best choice By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher A six-month sewer project that turned into an 18-month m a r at h o n h a s p ro m p t e d Burgaw Town Manager Chad McEwen to take a look at how the town awards contracts. The lowest bidder may not always save the town the most money. “The sewer contractor is working on some final things in an effort to wrap up that project,” McEwen said. “It was a six-month project that started in July of last year. It’s going on nine months over contract. Bottom line it was poor contract administration and oversight by the general contractor.” McEwen says the town has looked at what could have been done differently and some measure of pre-qualification of bidders on the project may have helped. “That would have given us

County debt structure examined by officials

Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew and Jeff Reid

Fireworks fly over the Surf City swing bridge as the town celebrates the end of summer Aug. 29. Mayor Zander Guy (left) welcomes the crowd to the event, which was rescheduled from July 3 when Hurricane Arthur passed close to the coast. See more photos of the event on page 4C and on Facebook.

By Tammy Proctor Post & Voice Staff Writer

Wet weather helped business

Beach business good this summer, owners say By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Business owners along Pender County beaches report a busy summer, despite a July 4 hurricane and a wetter-thanusual summer. “I think we have had the best season that we have had in a while,” said Surf City Mayor Zander Guy. Businesses as well as town officials say it was the best summer tourist season in a number of years and felt the rain contributed to more money for local businesses – when it’s raining on the beach, people need something to do, so they shop. “It was the best summer so far,” said Julie Bell-Voorhees, owner of the Bumblebee Market in Surf City. The store has been open seven summer seasons. “I think the rainy weath-

er helped our business.” Bell-Voorhees says many of the tourists to Topsail Island were new visitors that had vacationed in other places in the past. “We had a lot of returning visitors that come every year, but we also had a lot of people that we had never met. We usually ask people where they are from and it was their first time here. Many had moved their vacation from up north, such as the Jersey Shore or Long Island and were here for the first time,” she said. Chris Medlin at East Coast Sports in Surf City echoed Bell-Voorhees’ comments “Our spring started out a little slow being wet and cold, but the summer tourism trade was good, even with the hurricane,” Medlin said. “I think the rain helped. People who rent beach houses are

coming anyway. Since they can’t be on the beach because of rain, they go shopping. It’s unfortunate for them, but good for us.” Sunny Labor Day brings crowds Nice weather Labor Day weekend brought crowds of vacationers and day-trippers to Topsail Island, causing the usual traffic problems. Guy says the town handled the influx of visitors as well as it can. Surf City was forced to cancel its annual July 4 fireworks due to Hurricane Arthur. The town moved the event to Aug. 29 – Labor Day weekend. “I don’t think the crowd was a large as it usually is on July 4, but it kept growing as the night went along. We had a lot of local people there,” Guy said. “Traffic was congested, but what are you going to do

the opportunity to dig a little deeper and ask more questions before just accepting the lowest responsible bidder,” McEwen said. “We had a lot of issues with this contractor, beginning with the notice to proceed. They waited two months of a six-month contract before they mobilized. That is a horrible start to a project. We cannot force the shovels into the ground. We can encourage people to finish on time, but we can’t force them.” McEwen said it is important to be able to examine contractors in the beginning, more than simply taking the lowest bidder. “It might have been a cheaper contract but in the long run it’s probably not the best option for the town financially or otherwise. It is something we are looking at and have plans to put a pre-qualification process in place for this very reason,” McEwen said.

about that? When you have an island no wider than ours and you can’t expand your road network, you do the best you can. With an event like Friday night, you are still going to have traffic problems.”

The Pender County commissioners received an update on capital projects and the school bond from Ted Cole of Davenport & Company. Cole presented a report outlining the county’s existing tax supported debt profile and the 2014 capital planning and the county’s debt obligation. According to Cole’s report, Pender County has a general obligation credit rating of Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service and AA- from Standard

and Poor. Cole said the county’s credit rating has a direct impact on the cost of borrowing. Pender County has more than $45 million in projects, including the renovation of the Old Topsail High School, Pender Commerce Park, County Fuel Depots, the Pender Commerce Park and the Law Enforcement Center (LEC). The LEC is estimated to cost $25 million. The $75 million school bond issue, if approved by voters

Continued on page 2A

Breaking ground on Walmart

W e h av e Mov e d ! The office of the Post & Voice has moved to 108 W. Wilmington Street, Burgaw (former Rice Law building)

Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew

An excavator works along N.C. Hwy. 53 in Burgaw on the site of the new Walmart Tuesday. Contractors began clearing the property last week. Burgaw officials say Walmart engineers have been working since the spring to get the necessary regulatory approval to begin construction work. The new store is expected to be open in March.

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